New Chief of Pediatric Radiology
June 23, 2008

It is my pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Heike Daldrup-Link as Interim Section Chief for Pediatric Radiology and to thank Dr. Charles Gooding for his forty years of service in this role. Dr Gooding will step down as Section Chief on June 30 following a remarkable career in this position. He has clearly witnessed many significant changes in the field of Radiology over the years and has attained international prominence for his work in advancing pediatric radiology. I would like to thank Dr. Charles Gooding for his decades of service to the University, to the School of Medicine and to the Department. Of course, Dr. Gooding will remain on the faculty and will continue in his clinical and teaching roles which are of tremendous value to our department and institution.

Dr. Daldrup-Link joined UCSF in late 2003 and has worked successfully since that time to continue the tradition of excellent clinical collaborations with our Pediatric and Children’s Hospital colleagues, as well as establish a successful research track record. Dr. Daldrup-Link directs the Contrast Agent Research Group and conducts research in the Center for Molecular and Functional Imaging at China Basin.

Dr. Daldrup-Link graduated from Medical School at the University of Munster in Germany in 1992. She completed an internship in Internal Medicine (Herford Hospital, Germany), Surgery (University of Zurich, Switzerland), and Radiology (University of Munster, Germany) during 1993-1994. She began a Radiology Residency at the University of Munster in 1994 and completed this training at the Technical University of Munich in June 2001. Dr. Daldrup-Link’s residency training also included one year as a Pediatric Resident at the University of Munster (1997-1998). She was appointed as a Fellow in Molecular Imaging and a Staff Radiologist in Pediatric Radiology at the Technical University of Munich from June 2001 through June 2003. Dr. Daldrup-Link continued full-time as a Staff Radiologist in Pediatric Radiology and Molecular Imaging at the Technical University from July 2003-October 2003. She joined the UCSF Department of Radiology faculty in November 2003. Dr. Daldrup-Link was awarded her Ph.D. from the Technical University of Munich in September 2005. She received the Roentgen Award for innovative research in a new area of Radiology research in 2005, the UCSF Innovations in Science Award in 2005 and the Radiology Research Alliance Young Investigator Award in 2006.

I have asked Dr. Daldrup-Link to work closely with our colleagues in the Children’s Hospital as they continue plans for the new facility at Mission Bay. I expect her to play a significant role in expanding services to our pediatric radiology patients, and to work with other faculty and staff to assure accreditation of the ACGME Fellowship in Pediatric Radiology next year.
We will immediately begin a national search for a permanent Chief of Pediatric Radiology. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Heike Daldrup-Link and thanking Dr. Charles Gooding as they move into these new roles in the department.

Ronald Arenson, M.D.
Department Chairman

New Director of Postgraduate Education
June 18, 2008

After many years, Dr. Roy Gordon has decided to step down as Director of Postgraduate Education. Under his direction, our PGE activities have grown and become more profitable. He has instituted a sense of fairness in faculty selection along with an emphasis on the development of our junior faculty. We have begun more case-based instruction as well as Self-Assessment Modules and have fine-tuned our international courses with very successful African, Australian and European destinations. We also have begun a very popular web-based program through a partnership with CMEinfo.

We owe Dr. Gordon our thanks and congratulations on a job well done.

I am very pleased to announce to you that Dr. Lynne Steinbach has agreed to become the new Director and will begin her new role as of July 1. Dr. Steinbach has been very active in CME courses over the years and has been a major participant in the Postgrad Education Committee. For several years, Dr. Steinbach has chaired the course director selection process and has worked diligently with our able staff to maintain the course schedules. Dr. Steinbach is a very popular speaker at our courses and has been director of numerous courses over the years.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Steinbach in her new leadership role in the department.

Ronald Arenson, M.D.
Department Chairman

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In Memoriam: J. Randall Forbes, M.D.
July 17, 2008

J. Randall Forbes, beloved member of the UCSF Radiology family, passed away on Tuesday, July 15, 2008.  Randy was truly an exceptional human being. He was a dedicated husband to his wife Alex, and father to his two wonderful and accomplished children Tucker and Maddie.  Loved and cherished as a friend by a collection of people so extensive in number, diverse , interesting and accomplished in all walks of life, that if a person's wealth is measured by the people whose lives you touch, he was truely one of the richest people one could have ever meet. In addition to his remarkable skills as a compassionate caring physician, Randy was an exceptional artist, photographer and writer. The breadth of his talents were inspiring to all who knew him.

Randy trained as a radiology resident and musculoskeletal fellow at UCSF after attending Stanford University as an undergraduate and receiving his medical degree from Harvard Medical School. Upon leaving UCSF in 1994,  he joined a private practice in Monterey based at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.

UCSF and the Department of Radiology can count themselves as fortunate to have had such an exceptional man spend several of his far too few years sharing his time with us. He will be greatly missed.

A service in memory of Dr. Randy Forbes will be held in the late afternoon on Monday, August 18 at the Stanford Memorial Chapel on the campus of Stanford University, one of the many places where JR left his mark. His family suggests that, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Randy's memory. Plans for the service and for the fund are underway. Please check back here for more details: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/randyforbes
 

Dennis Orwig, M.D.

In Memoriam: Bruce H. Hasegawa, PhD, 1951-2008

On May 22, 2008 the nuclear medicine and medical physics communities lost an extraordinarily brilliant scientist, talented teacher, devoted mentor and above all a dear and true friend. Dr. Bruce Hasegawa died at the age of 56 at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center within a few days of suffering a massive stroke. His untimely death is truly a great loss to the many students and scholars that he mentored and the many colleagues he had assisted and collaborated with during his scientific journey. During his short, yet productive, life Bruce imparted a tremendous legacy that would not only touch the lives of many colleagues but also impact the lives of many patients who would unknowingly come to benefit from Bruce’s research successes.

Bruce was born on June 21, 1951. He grew up on an almond farm, affectionately referred to by Bruce as “the nut farm”, on the outskirts of Fresno, CA. Coming out of the Clovis school system with perfect SAT scores, Bruce entered California State University at Fresno majoring in physics and mathematics. After earning his Bachelor’s Degrees, he continued on to obtain a Master’s Degree in mathematics at Cal State Fresno. When his advisor told him that he was destined to have a great future in finite Abelian group theory, he became depressed and decided to apply his background in physics and mathematics to medicine. In 1974, he entered the graduate program in Physiology and Biophysics at the University of Washington in Seattle. He left the University of Washington without completing his degree and eventually returned to Fresno and taught undergraduate mathematics, physics and biology at his alma mater. In 1978 Bruce set out once again to earn his PhD. His career started taking shape as he worked towards his Master’s Degree in Radiology Sciences at the University of Colorado Health Science Center (HSC) in Denver. His project involved development of scintillation camera systems. From Colorado he would venture further East to eventually earn a PhD in Medical Physics, under the mentorship of Dr. Charles Mistretta, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After earning his PhD in 1986, Bruce moved to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Beverley Hills, CA as a Director of Medical Imaging Physics. Although the position was financially rewarding, Bruce strived for research opportunities and intellectual stimulation. The Hollywood lifestyle was not too appealing to Bruce so after 3 months he left Beverly Hills and joined the Radiology Department at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) as an Assistant Professor in Residence. He rose through the academic ranks to the position of Professor in Residence and Director of the Physics Research Laboratory. He joined the Nuclear Engineering Department at University of California-Berkeley (UCB) as an Associate Professor in Residence in 1997 and advanced to the position of Professor in Residence. He was deeply involved through his teaching and research with the joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Program in Bioengineering, and was a Co-Chair of the joint UCSF/UCB Graduate Group in Bioengineering for several years.

Throughout his educational and career journey Bruce left a trail of significant contributions to the field of medical imaging. He published nearly 200 publications and conference proceedings and 13 book chapters. While at the University of Colorado HSC in the early 1980’s Bruce sought to improve upon earlier multi-pinhole collimator work by evaluating a 12-pinhole collimator for cardiac SPECT imaging [1]. This work was ahead of its time, and it wasn’t until the last several years the multi-pinhole SPECT would be successfully applied in small animal imaging and again under evaluation for human applications. Above all Bruce is perhaps best known for his pioneering work on multimodality imaging, combining CT with SPECT to provide an overlay of radiotracer functional distribution on an anatomic image [2-5]. Using equipment borrowed from GE, Bruce placed a single head SPECT camera in close proximity to a CT ring. Using the same patient bed he took sequential scans with the CT and SPECT and then developed the algorithms to co-register the images. This new concept was rapidly accepted by all major equipment manufacturers as dual modality, SPECT/CT, cameras were marketed and sold throughout the world. This technology revolutionized the way we view and interpret images, and it led to the future development of PET/CT and PET/MR instruments. Bruce and colleagues had even initiated work on a SPECT/MR device.

It is interesting to note that Bruce was not the lead or senior author on three of the initial four SPECT/CT publications. He modestly minimized his credit for the discovery and development work and graciously shared the authorship with members of his group and other colleagues. Bruce was the recipient, unfortunately posthumously, of the 2008 Edward J. Hoffman Award from the SNM Computer and Instrumentation Council. When he first learned that he was going to be the recipient of this award he responded “isn’t there someone more deserving of this award than myself?”. Bruce never sought accolades or recognition for his scientific contributions. He was happy working quietly amongst his colleagues and he would always promote a colleague or student before himself. Though his journey was cut short we will long remember Bruce for his dedication to the field, his scientific insight, his collaborative spirit, his humble acceptance of his own successes and his gracious nature of assigning credit and authorship.

Bruce was an incredible educator and mentor. He constantly sought opportunities to encourage young students to pursue scientific careers. His “down-to-earth” lectures on complex engineering problems and his modest account of his own career path inspired many to pursue graduate studies in Physics and Bioengineering. He would make time for every student and colleague who would call or drop by his office. He gave freely of his time. As an educator, Bruce was dedicated to the improvement of the Medical Physics curriculum in order to better prepare students for the medical imaging field. He initiated and organized graduate Bioengineering courses and made them available to students at both UCSF and UC Berkeley. Bruce’s ability to explain complex problems in lay terms with added humor made him an excellent and oft sought after lecturer and writer. His textbook entitled "The Physics of Medical X-Ray Imaging", subtitled "The Photon and Me: How I Saw the Light", is a primer and an essential reference for researchers in the medical imaging field [6].

As a mentor, Bruce was truly devoted to helping others develop successful careers of their own. Over the years, Bruce served as a professional and research advisor to more than forty graduate students, researchers and faculty members. Through his guidance, many of these young investigators developed distinguished careers in both academia and in private industry. He was always happy to take a step back to provide visibility and credit to his junior colleagues. He spent hours of his own time critically reading other investigator’s grants and papers, and took clear joy in the success of his colleagues. These actions are clearly the sign of a truly caring person.

Behind his brilliant mind lay a simple man who appreciated life’s simple pleasures. Bruce was genuine, kind, generous, humble, sensitive and thoughtful. Bruce enjoyed good food, classical music, opera and even rock and roll. Bruce often demonstrated his appreciation for faculty colleagues and staff through simple gifts of food, flowers or candy and the occasional dim sum or jerk chicken lunch. He was always available to talk and was always available to share in the celebration of the successful achievements of others.

Travel was a big part of Bruce’s life. It started with family outings with his Cousin Dr. Ernie Kazato, with whom he hiked throughout the Western United States. With no family of his own Bruce would spoil his nieces, Sarah and Rebecca, and nephew Michael with trips of their choosing that included Hawaii and Japan. Around the holidays he would spend time with his family, brothers Craig and Ted and Ted’s wife Marilyn. Food was always a cornerstone of the celebration and Bruce made sure that there was always plenty to share. Although he rarely spoke of his family connections, when he did relay stories one could tell that he had a great deal of appreciation and affection for his family.

Bruce’s untimely departure is painful for all of us, as we lost a remarkable scientist, colleague and warm-hearted friend. We will always cherish the legacy of his brilliance, the impact of his work in the imaging field and the positive influence he had on the lives of his students, post-docs colleagues, and more importantly the lives of patients. These wonderful memories of Bruce will be sustained in all of us forever.

Dr. Hasegawa’s family has generously requested that donations in Bruce’s memory be made to the UCSF-Dr. Bruce Hasegawa Memorial Fund, PO Box 45339, San Francisco, CA 94545-0339.Please reference on the check: “Memorial Fund for Dr. Hasegawa (B2511)”

1. Hasegawa, B., et al., Single-photon emission tomography with a 12-pinhole collimator. J Nucl Med, 1982. 23(7): p. 606-12.
2. Lang, T.F., et al., Description of a prototype emission-transmission computed tomography imaging system. J Nucl Med, 1992. 33(10): p. 1881-7.
3. Liew, S.C. and B.H. Hasegawa, Noise, resolution, and sensitivity considerations in the design of a single-slice emission-transmission computed tomographic system. Med Phys, 1991. 18(5): p. 1002-15.
4. Lang, T.F., et al., Prototype Emission-Transmission CT Imaging System. . Conference Record of the 1991 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 1991. 3: p. 1902-1906.
5. Reilly, S.M., et al., A Computer Simulation of Simultaneous Emission-Transmission CT. Conference Record of the 1990 IEEE Nuclear Science Symposium and Medical Imaging Conference, 1990. 2: p. 1212.
6. Hasegawa, B.H., The Physics of Medical X-Ray Imaging. 2nd ed. 1991, Madison: Medical Physics Publishing Company.

UCSF Radiology Physics Laboratory website.

Ella Jones, Henry Van Brocklin, and Robert Gould 

Department Name Change
April 1, 2008

Radiology and Biomedical Imaging
A Department Gains In Name and Scope

The new neurointerventional biplane room installation at Parnassus
Photo: George Butco

As of April 1, 2008, the Department of Radiology has become the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. What prompted the change?

According to Chair Ronald L. Arenson, MD, he and the faculty leadership felt it was time for the name to reflect the department's current expertise and scope. The change acknowledges both the vital role of PhD researchers in the department and the range of research and clinical activities.

"Over the last decade, the UCSF Radiology and Biomedical Imaging departmental research enterprise has grown dramatically. It is now second in NIH funding among all departments of radiology nationwide", said Arenson.

The department's expansion to China Basin and QB3 five years ago has helped to speed its research success by providing the space to grow biomedical imaging programs. But the department's success has been largely driven by a dedicated group of research-oriented faculty, spanning bioengineering, biomedical and translational clinical research.

The number of PhD faculty and non-faculty academic research staff is now nearly equal to the number of MDs. This situation, unique among clinical departments, is what encouraged the faculty leadership to recognize the changing face of the department.

Beyond "X-Rays"

Radiology, as a discipline, has moved away from "x-rays" and into new and exciting methods of imaging technology, including molecular imaging. The tools used by the faculty are no longer based solely on ionizing radiation, nor does the typical radiologist assess X-rays.

Faculty are involved in developing new techniques to improve the use of imaging as a diagnostic marker for disease presence and progression. Clinical and translational researchers are involved in a variety of collaborative efforts with colleagues across campus to develop new tools, techniques and technologies to improve the use of imaging for diagnosis and treatment.

The next frontier for the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging is Molecular Imaging, which brings together a diverse group of imaging technologies to focus on diagnosis and therapy at the molecular or metabolic system level. Advances in genomics, proteonomics, imaging, drug development and bioengineering will transform medical research, teaching and clinical care during the next decade.

"The NIH is positioning itself to concentrate funding in these molecular-based sciences, and in translational applications, to improve health on a personalized basis and to reduce the cost and time for the development of new diagnostic tools and therapies", said Arenson. "The Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging intends to take full advantage of these opportunities and to remain a leader in both imaging science and patient care."

Cathy Garzio
Administrative Director

Radiology Website:  Past & Present
June 1, 2008

Recently, the Department of Radiology has become the Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging.  In addition to this name change, the department’s website has also had a facelift.   The new 2008 website redesign better reflects the department's triple mission to providing clear patient care information, the latest research, and promoting education. 

Coinciding with the redesign, is a new content management system called Drupal, used to support multi-users in facilitating their web-publishing needs.  About one hundred department users have been trained on this user-friendly system. 

Here’s a look at the department’s website evolution:

Radiology Website 2000:

Radiology Website 2002-2008:

Radiology Website 2008:

Hanh Ryan
Webservices